Persuasion Skills
by lovelyapper
Summary: James is helpless what comes to wooing Lily, and Sirius decides to help... with brilliant results.


**A/N: **Something short and hopefully sweet- with a dork named James Potter. English is not my native language so be gentle. R&R!  
Also the credit for the new title goes to not-you-15, for she informed me about the previous spelling error. Now, let's get cracking!

**Disclaimer:** Do not own.  
**Beta:** Do not own.

* * *

**Persuasion Skills**

"Oh bugger off, Potter!"

"But –"

Lily Evans stomped away from the common room couch and James Potter gazed after her leaving figure, bewildered. Lily vanished into the dorm stairs and James slumped back onto the burgundy couch.

He sighed dramatically. "I just can't grasp why she hates me so much, mate!"

Sirius Black, the aforementioned mate, sat directly in front of him in a large armchair, laughing at his best friend's misfortune.

"You can't?" he barked. "Shall I enlighten you then?"

James tried to shoot a murderous look at Sirius, but he ended up looking only pathetic.

Sirius noticed nothing. "It just might have something to do with the fact that you're way too keen."

"What?" James could not believe his ears. "Me? Keen?"

"Correct."

"And you, the bloody playboy baron of Hogwarts, are saying you're not eager when you spot something that's a sight for sore eyes?"

Sirius decided not to retort anything to his friend's malicious comment and only said, "Think about it, Prongs."

"Fine," James agreed and adjusted his huge goggles. He was quiet for five seconds and muttered, "Okay, having thought about it now I still don't have a slightest clue why she hates me."

"Thought you might not," Sirius replied and lifted his legs onto the chair. "Okay then, first question: What do you do when Evans sits next to you, for some unexplainable reason of hers?"

James thought about that. "Well I scoot closer, grab her by a thigh and tell her I love her."

Sirius stared at his friend, who stayed deadpanned. He was serious.

"And you can't understand what your problem is?" Sirius questioned, amused. James dumbly shook his head. The dog Animagus rolled his eyes, "Are you bloody daft?"

He laughed. "You _don't_ grab Evans by her thigh at the very second she sits down! Everybody knows that. Even I know that! And I'm not even wooing her for Merlin's sake!"

James only nodded sheepishly and Sirius continued, "And another thing... you should cut down the times you tell in front of everybody how you love her."

As the spectacled boy still said nothing, Sirius asked, "You love her for real, right?"

"No Sirius, I love Pete," James answered. "Of course I love her, you git!"

"Well then," Sirius smiled and leaned back to the armchair, letting his legs drop. "As you do, that doesn't mean you have to shriek 'uh I love you, Evans!' every time you see her."

"Why not?"

"'Cause that's merely pathetic," Sirius told and lifted his finger. "And it loses its very meaning. Just keep it to yourself and tell it to her when you're alone with her. That's how she'll know you're not just showing off in front of a crowd."

"But I love her so much! You know I do! And I want everyone else to know I do, too!"

"I think they already know it, Prongs."

"Oh."

"But you can tell it to her more discreetly in front of people, if you must," Sirius said after a moment of having thought of the whole thing.

"How am I going to do that?" James asked and was now more than ready to take some mind-notes.

"You can show you love her by sharing _loving glances_ at her. You know, not staring at her like an insane pervert, which you are however. Now, show me a loving glance, Prongs."

James started. "What?"

"I need to see your loving glance," the long-haired boy explained. "If it's a horrific one then it's no surprise she's always running away."

"I don't want to."

"Show me."

"No."

"Show me!"

James grimaced. "I'm not comfortable enough to give you my loving glances, Pads."

"You want me to climb into your lap to make this more real, Potter? Come on! Show me."

James muttered something nasty and tried to give his best I Love You So Very Much glance to the boy sitting in front of him. Sirius stared at his best friend's efforts with his mouth hanging open and after a while, he burst out laughing.

"Well stop laughing, you bastard!"

"That was dreadful!" Sirius laughed, and once he was calmed enough to talk again properly, asked, "Want to see how it's really done?"

James didn't respond, but as he saw Sirius doing _his_ loving glance, he could not argue which of them did it better. Sirius stared over James' left shoulder some unclear spot in the distance and when the Gogglehead turned around in his seat to look at the said distant spot, he saw someone.

"Oh hi Moony!" James shouted at the boy climbing through the portrait door. And as Remus just smiled at the boys and walked jovially towards them, Sirius' eyes were still nailed on him.

"Hi James," the werewolf said softly, dropped his school bag on the floor and sat on the armrest of Sirius' chair. He looked down at Sirius and gave him a wide smile. "Hello, Sirius."

Sirius just stared at Remus contently, "Hi Remmie."

James was baffled about the fact that Sirius was so good at giving loving glances. "Mate, you're brilliant at giving the glances!"

"Huh?" Sirius turned back to the black-haired boy. "Oh, yeah right. Of course I am. Um... where were we?"

Remus slid down from the armrest and sat next to Sirius. His hand subtly brushed the other boy's thigh.

"We were talking about the loving glances," James reminded Sirius.

Sirius turned his head again at the boy next to him, hardly controlling his drooling as he saw a gorgeous smile spreading on Remus' fair lips. "Hmm, well hello there, mister Moony," he murmured to Remus.

"Yeah, the loving glances, that's right," James chatted from the couch.

"Hi Sirius," Remus greeted once more the other boy, smiling from ear to ear. "I think I said that already, though."

"Remember the loving glances, Pads? How about we continue the talk?" James ruffled his hair. "Pads? The talk? About the glances?"

"I think you did," Sirius purred and scooted closer to Remus if any possible.

"Pads? I'm over here, mate!" James jumped and flailed his arms in the air, trying to gain some attention.

"Mm... So, what were you guys talking about?" asked the werewolf after reluctantly having turned to James, having not heard him at all. James gave a dramatic sigh.

"Nothing particularly important I assume."

Sirius lifted his hand to brush a strand of hair out of Remus' face. "No, we were just talking about how a person can tell someone how much they love them… only by looking at them. You know, Remmie, _loving glances_."

"I think I do," Remus said, eyeing Sirius. "But why were you talking about them?"

"Because Prongs here," Sirius said making no effort what so ever to gesticulate towards James as he spoke, "was using very wrong tactics to persuade the love of his life into his outspread arms. It was me who had to tell him what to do, exactly."

"Is that so?" Remus cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes," Sirius answered solemnly and leaned closer. "You know which sort of persuading strategy he was using before?"

"I'm _right_ here, you guys."

Remus faintly shook his head as Sirius leaned even closer. "I have no idea."

"He was practically molesting Evans every time he saw her," Sirius grinned. "Like this!"

Sirius grabbed Remus by his both thighs and kissed him sloppily on the lips. James shot immediately up and ran out screaming, "Didn't need to see that! Did _not_ need to see that!"

When the boys departed from the kiss, Remus smiled to his boyfriend and grinned, "You know, I don't think James will persuade Lily like he used to for a very long time."

Sirius shook his head, grinning. "You know I love you, right?"

"Of course I do," Remus replied and pecked Sirius' nose. "Now get off of me, we must go find James and persuade him to stop screaming."


End file.
